Approach Quote by William Faulkner
“You should approach Joyce's Ulysses as the illiterate Baptist preacher approaches the Old Testament: with faith.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Literary Critique, 1950
He compares reading Joyce to faith, implying deep trust despite complexity.
In simple terms: Reading complex works requires faith like religious belief.
Key Takeaway
Approach difficult texts with open mind.
Themes
literature
faith
interpretation
Mood
intrigued
respectful
Type
advice
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic study
- personal reading
- book clubs
Key Concepts
existentialism
modernism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does faith help you engage with challenging material?
- What strategies complement belief when reading?
A Different Perspective
Faith alone may not decode all complexities.
![“James Joyce is a cul-de-sac. [Ulysses is] ... an example how literature branched out and went into, lost itself in nowhere, no man's land.” quote by Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/21d/werner-herzog-964_books_james-joyce-is-a-cul-de-sac-ulysses-is-a_176588.jpg)
![“In respect of the recurrent emergence of the theme of sex in the minds of [Joyce's] characters, it must always be remembered that his locale was Celtic and his season spring.” quote by John Munro Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/77b/john-munro-woolsey-94809_joyce_in-respect-of-the-recurrent-emergence-of_1682756.jpg)
![“I've been working hard on [Ulysses] all day," said Joyce. Does that mean that you have written a great deal?" I said. Two sentences," said Joyce. I looked sideways but Joyce was not smiling. I thought of [French novelist Gustave] Flaubert. "You've been seeking the mot juste?" I said. No," said…” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/275/james-joyce-281_deals_i-ve-been-working-hard-on-ulysses-all-da_1018148.jpg)
![“A man [Joyce] whose earliest stories appeared next to the manure prices in the Irish Homestead knew that columns of prose, like columns of shit, could both recultivate the earth.” quote by Declan Kiberd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cfe/declan-kiberd-65721_fiction_a-man-joyce-whose-earliest-stories-appea_615934.jpg)
